1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to sailing craft, and more particularly to a remote-control system for launching and retracting one or more sails of a sailing craft.
2. Prior Art
Remote control systems for turning the rudder and trimming the sails of sailing craft are known and have drawn great interest to the hobby of building and operating scale model sailing craft. One such system is described in the referenced Remote Control Boat Patent, and includes a reversible electric motor drive operated by a radio signal responsive servo switch.
Prior to the availability of remote control systems, the rudder and sails of a model craft were set in substantially fixed positions before the craft was launched. Once the craft was in the water, the direction it sailed was the result of combined effects of wind and seas. Sailing the craft from a point on shore out into a body of water and back to the same point on shore was virtually impossible unless, by some chance, variations of wind and seas combined to so direct the craft.
A problem with previously proposed model sailing craft is that, while the trim of one or more sails can be remotely controlled from shore, it has not been possible to launch and retract selected sails and to thereby more accurately test the skills of a sailor.
A further problem is that, inasmuch as a jib sail is known to interfere with the efficient flow of air to a spinnaker sail, it has not been possible to equip scale model sailing craft with both jib and spinnaker sails without detracting from the efficiency of the spinnaker sail.